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I'm Flashaholically dead.....

I really hate admitting it to you guys and myself, but I think that I am now flashaholically dead. I havent been on in the past few months (or often that is) due to schoolwork and such and now I dont feel that desire for more flashlights, which we all know is what makes a flashaholic a flashaholic right? . I still use my lights, and I always will, but I wont have the passion for more of them and more knowledge of them. Ill try being here alot though, because I still owe alot to this community.

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

Don't feel so bad. Schoolwork should take priority over flashlights and if you're so absorbed into your work, that's good. Hopefully it'll get you some good marks and you'll have some money now too . You can always rekindle your love affair with them when you're working and have lots of money to buy/build nice custom ones!

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

I think the flashaholism goes in cycles for just about everyone, though sometimes one really does decide to just move on. The cycles usually correspond with new product releases. When there is a lull from new lights on the scene, folks tend to lose a little interest in the hobby. When lots of new things are being offered, it can be a challenge to keep up with all the new posts!

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

This has happened to me several times and each time it was a new product or some type of item I wished to mod that brought my attention back.

The latest time it was the purchase of a new Wolf-Eyes duty light and I was quickly hooked again however this time it was on incandescents rather than the Luxeon craze.

The previous time I had grown bored with lights and it was the RAW NS that got me hooked again and I began buying up various rechargeable Li-Ion cells to experiment with.

For me it is such an interesting hobby that I always return to it in time. I may get bored from time to time however products are advancing so quickly that I find myself often amazed each time I get back into it. There is always something new or some maker that has a cool toy. Yes you will go full circle however once a light person always a light person I believe.

My biggest problem is that with each return trip my wants seem to rise in cost. Early on in my interest I was happy to tinker with a 5 dollar Solitaire and a crappy 5mm LED from RadioShack. Now I am not happy unless I am attempting to mod a 100 plus dollar light the size of a peanut (RAW NS) At one time I was also happy to buy a 6 dollar bargain light (Dorcy AAA) and now it takes much more than that to get me going. (FF2,Fenix...etc

Yes keep thinking you can walk away anytime...ha we all think that at times and now we are much more poorer with plenty of lights.

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

I've become sated on lights myself. If you have good lights and use them your mission may be fullfilled for now. Sounds like you are devoting your extra time to worthy causes. It can't hurt to have the extra money from not buying lights either. Don't know if you're into LEDs, but they are only getting better. Waiting will let you skip the moderate improvements and go straight to the mega advances. That's one thing I'm telling myself.

It's a great community, you're right about that. I post more in the off-topic section now than any on-topic ones. Really it seems that I have too many lights, I may sell off a few down the line.

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

I know how you feel mags. Thats how i got with scanners, buying it just because its a new model. Nowadays it has to be justified. I listen everyday, but i hardly visit www.radioreference.com anymore.....

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

It's a smart guy who can be satisfied with what he's got, at least for awhile. I mean, if you have fairly state-of-the-art lights now, just wait a few years until there are some real changes in technology before upgrading again. Same goes for computers, digital cameras, cell phones--anything that goes obsolete quickly because the technology isn't yet mature.

People who must have the absolute latest and greatest all the time end up blowing a lot of money with nothing to show for it a few years later. I wonder if a Luxeon of today will still be that impressive five years from now.

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

I wouldn't call myself flashaholically dead, but I feel that I've climbed all the mountains I've set out to climb. I've owned some of the most awesome lights available (with the exception of some tremendously overpriced special editions, which I don't have the $$ to afford). In terms of the technology, I've got something in every power class and I have my personal favorites down pat, to the point where they're not changing. My EDC lights are pretty much constants after nonstop carry for close to 18 months and being completely unable to find anything that tops them.

I've got a few mods to my name, a few popular mods that are helping out other folks, and LUDICROUS lumens avaliable on command (currently: USL, homemade 35W HID spot, Supernova 35W HID spot came earlier this week). I'm happy......

For the hopelessly afflicted, there is an end in sight - when you own or have built something in every available power class.

But it's not the end of the road: I am still looking for higher mountains to climb. Right now, the only mountain that still defies me are the kilowatt-class tank spotlights, but I have neither the engineering expertise, gensets, or physical space to house them. Just firing them up would piss off everybody in the neighborhood so bad I'd be explaining myself for weeks. So I'll pass on that at the moment. Remember, that when you clock your 35W homemade HID at a range of 1500 feet, that it can be *SEEN* for a 1.5kft radius around you. Simple calculations - if you can see the beam at 1.5kft bouncing off your target back to your eyes, anybody in a circle can, too.

Plus, as has been said, it's the community that keeps me here rather than anything else. I have always enjoyed the company and the extraordinary folks who make up CPF, so whether or not I am buying lights at the moment (I'm not), I still enjoy the community for everything it is.

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

It's cyclical. I was on the fence awhile, then the Fenixes started to roll out, and the combination of price point and performance perked my ears up! After another lull, the Target clearances were upon us, and that was fun, cuz I'm always giving away flashlights! Do any of us really *need* more lights? I doubt it, but there's always going to be something new, or on sale, or some friend or relative who needs a flashlight, and *boom!* yer back in it!

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

Originally Posted by Mags

I really hate admitting it to you guys and myself, but I think that I am now flashaholically dead. I havent been on in the past few months (or often that is) due to schoolwork and such and now I dont feel that desire for more flashlights, which we all know is what makes a flashaholic a flashaholic right? . I still use my lights, and I always will, but I wont have the passion for more of them and more knowledge of them. Ill try being here alot though, because I still owe alot to this community.

Trust me -- You're not dead you're just in a 'light coma.

You'll snap out of it somewhere between getting a paycheck and getting married... Then another coma while the kiddies are teeny... Then your kids will like your cool lights, much brighter than their friends' lights and you'll be back at it. Halloween also calls for lots of lighting.

Not that you're life's predesigned or anything. Hehe.

(I'm starting a business. Have been for a while. I'm in a [flash]light coma too.)

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

Originally Posted by Mags

I really hate admitting it to you guys and myself, but I think that I am now flashaholically dead. . I still use my lights, and I always will, but I wont have the passion for more of them and more knowledge of them. Ill try being here a lot though, because I still owe alot to this community.

Ahhh...Mags, we barely knew ya! Life goes on, priorities change, some things are not as important as they once seemed to be. The memories are what's important.

You WIll remember, though, when the clouds hide the moon and the wind rustles the grass beyond the campfire's spill. You will reach for your EDC, and be comforted. Trust me, I know these things.

Dormant, perhaps, but not dead.

Another little Jackie Paper! How sad...but not really. Have a good life!

That old Black Maglight has me in its spell;
That old Black Maglight that shines so well...

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

Yeah, I'm kind of more laid back lately, but only because some recent purchases have given the buying thing a good scratch, so now it takes something (in my case some REALLY good sale prices) more special to get my interest up. I did pop for one of 4seven's $30. L1Ps - that was special. Not long ago, I would have popped for 2 or 3.

I still play with mine and attend this forum regularly because you all are a good bunch of (mostly) guys, but it's getting harder to consier buying things.

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

Mags, i know EXACTLY how you feel - right now i feel the same way. I'm guessing that's because we're roughly the same age (me 13, you 12-ish )

School can be pretty hard, can't it? so much homework...... (actually im kinda lucky - i manage to do most of my homework during classtime by getting stuff done quickly )

Hmm, you're birthday is approaching soon isn't it? if you ask for (or seriously think about asking for) at least one light (even if it isn't a very expensive one or a major present) then that shows that while schoolwork is pushing it back, the flashaholic spirit lingers on!

Or maybe i'm getting all philosopher-y again....i really have to stop doing that.

--neg

Last edited by Neg2LED; 04-25-2006 at 05:45 AM.
Reason: checked some info and corrected myself

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

Mags, this is normal and the way things go for most flashaholics. Ever wondered about all those post from "new" people here at CPF? Well, the missing posts of the "old" people are just harder to notice. If it's just a hobby and doesn't become some kind of business, then I'd say 2-3 years is already a long period, many leave before that. However, new people keep coming and with all the "uneducated" out there, this won't change anytime soon!

Re: I'm Flashaholically dead.....

Glad to hear your interests are changing. That's what life's all about. You're too young to get stuck in a rut. Grow, explore, discover new passions. That's not to say you can't check in to say hi every now and then. Let us know what new joys you have found.

Cheer up. Even if the flashaholism is dead, there's always the resurrection to look forward to. Share that one with your father for me.